Grant Shapps Says Liz Truss’s Economic Approach ‘Clearly Wasn’t Right’

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Business secretary Grant Shapps has said Liz Truss’s approach to tackling low economic growth “clearly wasn’t” the right one.

Shapps said that while he agreed with the former prime minister that the UK should have a lower-tax economy, that could not happen without “laying out the groundwork” first by tackling inflation and controlling debt.

The Cabinet minister, who served as Truss’s home secretary for just six days, was speaking in response to a 4,000-word article penned by Truss in the Telegraph on Saturday.

In the article, Truss claimed she was not given a “realistic chance” to enact her policies to cut taxes and boost growth, which she argued were correct.

Truss’s 49 days in office ended following the market turmoil caused by her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget, which unveiled £45 billion-worth of unfunded tax cuts.

It caused the value of the pound to plunge, interest rates to soar and led to the Bank of England having to bail out the UK’s pensions industry.

Truss said that while she was not “blameless” about the market turmoil that ensued, she was nevertheless held back by a “very powerful economic establishment” and a “lack of political support”.

Taking aim at her own party, she said she had “underestimated the resistance… to move to a lower-tax, less-regulated economy”.

Her intervention — her first since standing down in October — has reignited a debate in the Conservative Party about how it grapples with high taxes and sluggish economic growth.

A recent bleak forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the UK economy will perform worse than every other major country in 2023 — including sanctions-hit Russia.

Asked whether he thought Truss’s approach to the economy was right, Shapps replied: “Clearly it wasn’t.”

Shapps also defended the Conservative Party from Truss’s criticisms, saying: “No-one wants to pay higher levels of taxes but I think you have to set this in an international context.

“Every Western government has been hit by Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and experienced through-the-roof energy costs, and has then experienced high levels of inflation.

“People might mistakenly think this is something happening in Britain and Britain alone. In fact if you look at the international comparisons, it is happening around the world. Every government is struggling with this.”

Truss has kept a low profile ever since she was ousted from the top job after just 49 days in office —until now.

Her intervention represents another headache for Rishi Sunak, who is already battling with the resurgence of Boris Johnson.

The former prime minister has also put pressure on Sunak over the economy, calling on him to cut taxes before the next election.

The prime minister has repeatedly said that inflation must be brought under control but the government can contemplate slashing taxes.

Johnson also criticised Sunak’s decision not to send British fighter jets to Ukraine following a plea from Kyiv to Western allies.

Downing Street has said it would not be “practical” to send jets to Ukraine. The UK has, however, sent 14 Challenger 2 tanks to assist with the war effort against Russia.

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Lewis Capaldi’s Semi-Naked Selfies In His ‘Budgie Smugglers’ Leave Michael McIntyre’s Big Show Viewers In Hysterics

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Lewis Capaldi knew what he was letting himself in for when he agreed to hand over his phone to Michael McIntyre as part of his regular Send To All challenge on his BBC show.

The segment sees a celebrity hand over their mobile to Michael who then peruses through their phone before sending an oft-hilarious message to all of their (often famous) contacts and awaits responses.

But that didn’t mean the Scottish star bothered to do a quick audit of the photos in his camera roll ahead of his appearance on Saturday night’s episode of Michael McIntyre’s Big Show.

The Someone You Loved singer showed what a good sport he was when the host started scrolling through his snaps only to reveal several of Lewis in his pants.

Cue gasps from the audience at London’s Drury Lane Theatre and Lewis joking: “I’m smuggling quite a few budgies there!”

When Michael asked why the singer was taking the selfies, he replied: “Ah, for personal use.”

Lewis Capaldi on Michael McIntyre's Big Show
Lewis Capaldi on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show

Another picture showed Lewis lying down on a bed holding a trophy from the Official Charts Company, which left the audience and viewers at home in hysterics…

Lewis’ appearance on the BBC show follows that of Rylan Clark last month, who also took part in the Send To All segment.

But as Rylan relinquished his phone, he soon realised there was an app he’d forgotten to delete prior to it being the focus of a feature on national TV.

He was seen holding his head in his hands laughing as he realised Hinge was still active, and it didn’t take Michael long to delve into his profile.

Throwing it up on the big screen, viewers saw a variety of Rylan’s pictures and answers to various prompts.

“You know when you join these things… because I am a single man know, so I thought I’d get with the programme and do what everyone else does and try this out,” he explained. “But it says you have to add a certain amount of photos.

“I’ve not updated my photos since I’ve done that, ‘Oh that one will do, that one will do,’” he insisted.

Rylan’s profile also revealed his unusual skill is that he can “roll his tongue in three places” and the way to win him over is by “being decent”.

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